


Downtime

by smarshtastic



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Blackwatch Era, Blackwatch Jesse McCree, Blackwatch Reaper | Gabriel Reyes, M/M, Relationship Reveal, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-01
Updated: 2017-12-01
Packaged: 2019-02-09 01:09:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12876948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smarshtastic/pseuds/smarshtastic
Summary: It was a good, easy mission. Jesse knows a cozy bar down the street from their extraction point and they have a couple of hours to kill before the shuttle arrives. So, Jesse suggests they stop for a drink or two. Gabe even offers to buy them all a round—his treat.---This was a piece forCLASSIFIED: A Blackwatch Zine





	Downtime

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written for the [Blackwatch](https://blackwatchzine.tumblr.com/) [Zine](https://twitter.com/BlackwatchZine)! I had never done a zine before this one, and I'm so happy that my first zine experience was with such a wonderful, talented, amazing group of people ♥ 
> 
> You can find me on [tumblr](http://wictorwictor.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/smarshtastic) ♥

It’s not often that the Blackwatch strike team gets a chance to wind down immediately post-mission, but today they jump at the chance. Usually, they can’t stick around for one reason or another—someone is injured, conditions are unsafe, hostiles are still active. This time, everyone’s fine and everything is calm. It was a good, easy mission. Jesse knows a cozy bar down the street from their extraction point and they have a couple of hours to kill before the shuttle arrives. So, Jesse suggests they stop for a drink or two. Gabe even offers to buy them all a round—his treat.  

The strike team piles into a booth in the corner while Jesse accompanies Gabe to the bar to help carry drinks. Jesse leans up against the bar, angled towards Gabe, waiting for the bartender to turn his attention to them.  

“You think we’ll get any time off after this?” Jesse asks. “Or is Morrison gonna send us back into the trenches?” 

“Today went so well,” Gabe says, drumming his fingers on the bar. “I'm sure we'll be back out there in no time.”

Jesse rests his hand on the bar, close to Gabe’s own. After a moment, Gabe tangles their fingers together briefly. 

“It's not so bad,” Jesse says, unable to keep the smile from spreading over his face.

Gabe’s eyes crinkle at the corners, his lips turning up ever so slightly. “We make the best of it.”

The bartender finally pours their drinks and, between the two of them, they manage to get the glasses back to the corner booth. 

“Took you long enough!” Edwards says, already reaching for a beer.

Valdez swats his hand and swipes the beer out from under him. She passes it to Prithi. 

“Debriefing without us, Commander?” Valdez asks as she helps herself to a beer. 

“That's not what it looked like to me,” Shiga says. He gives Jesse a hearty wink.

Jesse laughs it off. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices Gabe’s expression doesn't change. 

“Reyes was just trying to get me to put my credit down,” he says. “But I'm not the one with the company card.”

“To the company card, then!” Shiga says, raising his glass. The rest of the strike team follows suit. 

“You're buying the next round, Shiga,” Gabe says. They all laugh as they take a drink. 

It's not every day that a mission goes as smoothly as this, and the mood is positively celebratory. They get through their first round, and their second, and their third—at some point, Jesse loses track. Edwards and Shiga are revisiting an old billiards rivalry, while Prithi and Valdez take turns flirting with the handsome bartender. 

They've left Gabe and Jesse in the booth, where the two of them are sitting close, thighs touching. Jesse has one hand wrapped around his glass but the other is resting on Gabe’s knee under the table. Gabe's head is tilted towards Jesse, his eyes open and bright. Jesse treasures these moments with Gabe; unguarded, intimate. It's not something they get to have outside of stolen moments or the privacy of their quarters. Fraternization within Overwatch is frowned upon, at best. But nobody’s really paying attention to them right now, and the alcohol is sitting warm and pleasant in Jesse’s stomach. He shifts closer, leaning his elbow on the table.

Gabe sits back in his seat. He’s looking at Jesse, lips curled up at one corner. “What are you doing?” he asks.

Jesse smiles wider. “Just lookin’,” he says.

Gabe averts his gaze, embarrassed but pleased. “Somebody will notice.”

“Nah,” Jesse says, leaning in still further. “Prithi’s almost got that bartender’s number and Edwards is losing to Shiga. They ain't paying attention to us.”

“Mm,” Gabe says, pursing his lips. He's still smiling, though, peeking back up at Jesse through thick lashes. There's some color in his cheeks—the only indication that he's feeling the effects of the alcohol he's consumed.

Jesse’s feeling loose-limbed and happy. He can’t think of a better feeling than a job well done, a good drink, and a night spent with the man he loves. He leans in the rest of the way and presses a warm, soft kiss to Gabe’s lips. He closes his eyes. He feels Gabe’s lips part against his. Jesse savors it. 

“Oooh!” Shiga’s voice rises above the bar’s music and chatter.

Jesse feels Gabe stiffen and pull away immediately. His hand slips away from Jesse’s as he moves down the bench.

“No, no—don’t stop on our behalf!”

Jesse feels his face go hot. He looks over at Shiga, who’s leaning on his pool cue, grinning. Edwards looks slightly shocked, while Prithi and Valdez have hardly batted an eye. 

“Wait—are you two—” Edwards starts to say. 

“Together?” Shiga finishes. 

“We—I’m not—we are—” Jesse stammers. He doesn’t look at Gabe—he’s almost afraid to—after all they’ve been through, Jesse can’t believe it’s his own stupid indiscretion that brings it all crashing down on their heads. 

“We’re together,” Gabe says.

Jesse whips his head around so fast he almost snaps his neck.

Gabe meets Jesse’s eyes. Jesse’s breath catches in his throat. Under the table, Gabe’s hand finds Jesse’s again, and laces their fingers together. The fear in Jesse’s chest melts away immediately. He squeezes Gabe’s hand. 

“Knew it,” Shiga says.

Valdez heaves a sigh and sets her drink on the bar so she can fish her wallet out of her pocket. She hands Prithi a wad of bills. Edwards looks from person to person, apparently confused. 

“But—I thought you guys were just, you know, close?” Edwards says.

Shiga blinks and turns slowly to look at him. “Edwards, they’re gay.”

Edwards huffs. “Well, how was I supposed to know?”

Under the sound of Shiga’s laugher, Jesse asks Gabe in a low voice, “Are you sure?”

“About?”

“Us?” Jesse says, then adds: “Telling people about us?”

“Jesse, I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life,” Gabe says, holding Jesse’s gaze. “As for telling people—well, I trust these idiots most, after you.”

Jesse finds himself smiling, gooey and soft. He leans in for a kiss—the secret’s already out, and he really needs it right now. He reaches up with his free hand to cup Gabe’s cheek and kisses him soundly. Gabe, for what it’s worth, kisses him back. Jesse’s heart soars. 

“Do we have to get you two a room?” Shiga calls to them.

Jesse pulls away first this time, heat rising to his cheeks again. He drops his hand from Gabe’s cheek to flip Shiga off. 

“I’ve probably got enough here for the rest of the night before we get extracted,” Prithi says, waving her cash from Valdez. 

“Hey, yeah, that’s ours,” Jesse says. “You had a bet that we were together?”

“No, that part was obvious,” Shiga says, rolling his eyes. “You two are inseparable.”

“We disagreed about which of the two of you would fess up to it first,” Valdez says. “I was pretty sure Reyes would be the professional one.”

“No use trying to lie to spies,” Gabe says dryly.

Jesse scrunches up his face.  “Are we really that obvious?” he asks, his mind jumping to the worst conclusions. Who else knows? Shiga shakes his head. 

“Nah. I mean—not to the whole world,” he says. “Edwards here had no idea, and he’s with us all the time.”

“It’s just little things, really,” Prithi says. “Looks and touches—and you’re always so close. If you weren’t actually together, I would’ve been shocked.”

“Still thought Jesse would’ve been the one to blab, though,” Valdez says.

Gabe covers his face with his hand. “Well, cat’s out of the bag,” he says, slightly muffled. 

“Don’t worry,” Shiga says earnestly. “You can trust us.”

“I know,” Gabe says, peeking between his fingers. “I appreciate that.”

“We do just want you both to be happy,” Valdez says, her face serious. 

“We knew pretty much the moment you two got together,” Prithi adds. “It was like a switch went on. You were both… incandescent.”

Edwards looks between them, brow furrowed, obviously still confused. “Really?” 

“Edwards, buddy. You really need to pay more attention,” Shiga says, clapping him on the shoulder. 

✜ ✜ ✜

The rest of the strike team walks ahead, weaving their way on slightly-unsteady feet to their pickup. Jesse lags behind with Gabe, their fingers laced, hands swinging between them. He leans into Gabe’s shoulder as they go, smiling up at him in the moonlight. 

“You good?” Jesse asks.

Gabe tilts his head down to return the smile. “Couldn’t be happier, Jesse.”

Jesse pulls him in for a kiss. It feels like home.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this piece, you might be interested in some of my other work! Check out [SALTapalooza](https://archiveofourown.org/series/829584), a McReyes trope-fest that updates weekly. I've been working on this with [fabrega](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabrega/) for months and months and we're really proud of what we've created - go check it out!!


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